Whoever Made Fun of Anything in Which
Allah, the Qur'an or His Messenger Are Mentioned

Allah , says:

"
And if you question them, they declare emphatically: "We were only talking idly and joking." Say: "Was it at Allah, His Aayat and His Messenger you were mocking?" Make no excuses! You have rejected faith after you had accepted it, if We pardon some of you, We will punish others amongst you because they were sinners"
(Qur'an 9:65-66)

In these two verses, Allah , Most Glorified, Most High, refers to an incident in which the hypocrites, having taken part in the Battle of Tabuk with the Muslims, began to discredit and insult them and their Religion: He , Most High, informs His Prophet, Muhammad about the reply of those hypocrites, when they are questioned about their lack of faith, that they will put forward untruthful and invalid excuses for their behaviour, claiming that the slanders which issued from their mouths were spoken only as a jest. Then He , Most High, tells the Prophet to reply to them that their excuses are not acceptable, for they are guilty of mocking Allah , His Revelation, His Proofs, His Signs and His Messenger ; but in spite of this, He , Most Merciful does not close the door completely on the hope of forgiveness and mercy for those of them who cease their hypocrisy and turn sincerely in repentance to Allah . Finally, He , Most Blessed, Most High, confirms the severe chastisement which awaits them because of their hypocrisy and disbelief.

Benefits Derived From These Verses

1. That making fun of Islam and the Muslims is, an act of disbelief.

2. According to some scholars of the Hanbali school of fiqh, repentance is not accepted from anyone who makes fun of Islam and the Muslims, while others held the view that there is repentance for him. 1

Relevance of These Verses to the Subject of the Chapter

That they prove the disbelief of one who mocks Allah , His Aayat or His Messenger .

..ooOOoo..

It is reported on the authority of Ibn `Umar (ra), Muhammad ibn Ka'ab, Zaid Ibn Aslam and Qatadah that in the course of the Battle of Tabuk, a man came up and declared: "We have seen none greedier, none so untruthful and none so cowardly as these (Qur'anic) reciters of ours (i.e. Allah's Messenger and the Companions). `Awf Ibn Malik replied: "(In fact) you are the liar and a hypocrite; I shall inform the Messenger of Allah (about what you have said)." And so `Awf went to Allah's Messenger in order to inform him of what had occurred, but he found that Revelation had already preceded him. Then that man came to the Messenger of Allah when he was just starting out on a journey on his camel. The man pleaded: "We were only joking and indulging in travellers' talk to pass the time." Ibn `Umar (ra) said: "It is as if I see him before me now, clinging to the saddle-belt of the Allah's Messenger's camel and the rough stones were battering his legs as he ran and he was saying: "We were only talking idly and joking." But the Messenger of Allah replied: ""
Was it at Allah, His Aayat and His Messenger you were mocking? Make no excuses! You have rejected faith after you had accepted it.""
." He did not look towards him, nor did he say anything further."

`Abdullah Ibn `Umar (ra) and the other above-mentioned narrators inform us in this Hadith,that during the Tabuk Campaign, a man from among the hypocrites began to malign the Messenger of Allah and the Companions and to mock them, claiming that they ate too much food and that they were liars and cowards in battle. When `Awf Ibn Malik (ra) heard these words, he became angry for Allah and His Messenger's sake and he refuted these words, branding him a liar and a hypocrite and warning him that he would inform the Prophet about what he had said; but when he came to him, he found that he already knew of the incident, because Allah had informed him through Revelation: The Qur'an had uncovered the baseness and deceipt of the hypocrites for all to see and cursed their disbelief. After this, the hypocrite came to the Messenger of Allah to try to explain his behaviour with patently false excuses, but Allah's Messenger refused even to look in his direction; he merely replied quoting the verse which Allah had revealed to him concerning this man and all those like him.

Benefits Derived From This Verse

1. The danger of the hypocrites to Islam and the Muslims.

2. That maligning Islam is a sign of hypocrisy.

3. That hatred for the Muslims and disparaging them is an act of kufr.

4. The obligation to refute immediately that which is evil.

5. The true faith of `Awf Ibn Malik.

6. The permissibility of branding a person a hypocrite if he exhibits unmistakable signs of hypocrisy.

7. Confirmation of the miracle of the Prophet in that he was informed by Revelation of the incident before `Awf came to him.

8. The non-acceptance of vain excuses.

9. The obligation to be severe with those who mock the Religion.

Relevance of This Hadith to the Subject of the Chapter and to the Subject of Tawheed

That the Hadith and the verse contained there in, prove the disbelief of one who makes fun of Allah , His Book or His Messenger .

Footnotes

1. Those scholars of the mazhab of the great scholar of fiqh, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal who held that there is no repentance for the one who mocks the Religion doubtless drew for evidence upon the Words of Allah (swt): (Qur'an 9:66). According to these scholars, the only alternative for such a person would be to embrace Islam anew, by testifying that none is worthy of worship except Allah (swt) and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.